The Greatest Danger to the Church

What is the greatest danger to the church? Is it overt demonic attacks from the kingdom of Satan? Is it persecution - like that experienced in the days of the early church or in China over the last 70 years? Is it government overreach - stymying the church’s ability to worship freely? Is it other dominant world religions? No. None of these. These are real dangers and enemies to the gospel, but do not rival the greatest danger to the church. The greatest danger to the church in our day and every day is one word: compromise. Compromise with the world. Making peace with the world and the spirit of the age. There is nothing that will drain the life and effectiveness of a church; nothing that will make a church’s witness anemic than compromise. It is compromise with the world, this cozying up with the world that brings the scathing rebuke we hear in James 4:4:

You adultresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

We are going to hear Jesus address a compromising church, and the Lord’s call for a pure  church, free from worldly entanglements. The Puritans were a group of people who had a desire for the church to be pure. Originally the name puritan was used in derision, but the puritans themselves came to wear it as a badge of honor, because they truly did want to see the church purified in its worship, doctrine, practice, and the moral virtue of its members. In this sense we should all be puritans. 

We are going through the letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor in Revelation 2-3. These are letters the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, dictated and wanted delivered to the churches. What he says to them is profound. It would have been relevant to those living at the time the letters were delivered to them in the first century. But the messages contained in these letters are perennially relevant. The order of the letters follow what could be described as a postal route. Going up the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea, and then circling further inland, the seven cities formed a lopsided horseshoe shaped route. 

The first letter was to Ephesus. Ephesus was a church that was strong in doctrine. They resisted those who came claiming to be apostles. Rather than blindly accepting their teaching simply because of their claims, they tested them. But Jesus saw something enormous lacking. The love they had at first for the Lord Jesus was waning. They had abandoned it. And so Jesus calls them to repent. This was the church in need of rekindled affection for Christ. 

The second letter was to Smyrna. Smyrna was a church on the verge of some intense persecution. A satanically inspired attack was going to result in the imprisonment of some of them. Some would probably die, which is why Jesus urged them to “be faithful unto death”. 

Today we come to the letter to Pergamum (or Pergamos). Pergamum was a compromising church. Pergamum was an important city. Pergamum was the official capital of Roman Asia Minor. So it was a center and defender of Greco-Roman culture in the region. Pergamum was an important city culturally. It had a library containing 200,000 volumes of books, scrolls, etc, which was only second to the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Pergamum was a place of high learning and education. Pergamum was also a pivotal Roman city religiously. It was a center of pagan worship. The altar to Zeus was there, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Pergamum was also the home to the first temple devoted to the worship of the emperor - dedicated to Augustus in 29 BC. 

Jesus to Pergamum

It is this church, in this context that Jesus wants to address… and he wants to address us as well. Notice how the Lord Jesus introduces himself:

The words of Him who has a sharp two-edged sword. (v. 12)

Why does Jesus introduce himself like this? Remember his introduction in the letter we looked at last week? “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life”. Why does he not just say, “Dear Pergamum. It’s me Jesus”? Probably for a couple of reasons. Initially, it gets the attention of the recipients. In a way, it should shake us from our lethargy and apathy to hear the words of Him who has the sharp two-edged sword. But the other reason is because each of the introductions contain revelation about Jesus that is of incredible importance. 

He has a sharp two-edged sword. What is that? Well, we saw in Revelation 1:16 that it's a sword that comes out of his mouth. Clearly this is pointing to the words of Christ that are sharp and piercing. His words are a weapon. And this weapon is effective - it is two-edged, and cuts both ways. We see elsewhere in the NT that the sword of God’s word is a weapon in the hands of believers. As Paul instructs us to take up the whole armor of God, the final piece of armor is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Here, the focus is on the sword coming from the mouth of Christ, not the one we take up. Next Jesus acknowledges his intimate acquaintance with their circumstances.

I know… (v. 13)

In fact, Jesus says this in each of the letters as well. Last week we heard the words of Jesus to Smyrna (and us), “I know your tribulation”. What an amazing thing. Jesus fully God, yet man knows. He is touched with the tribulation of his people. To Pergamum he says, 

I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. (v. 13)

Satan. The name means adversary. Jesus says, “I know you dwell right there where the adversary’s throne is”. Presumably this is because of the cult of the emperor which was prized in Pergamum. And because of the rank idolatry of Pergamum, its height being the worship of the emperor, the Christians were in grave danger. Once a year, every year, the people were required to offer a sacrifice to the emperor - “just a pinch of incense on the altar” and confess “caesar is lord”. If a Christian said, “I cannot confess caesar is lord, because Jesus is Lord”, it cost them their life. 

After introducing Himself, the rest of this letter containts to the following things from Jesus 1) praise, 2) correction, 3) command, and 4) promise

Jesus Praises

And it is here that we hear Jesus praising or commending the church at Pergamum. Listen to what Jesus said,

Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Pergamum was a church who experienced severe and fiery persecution. They lived where Satan’s throne was - a center of the cult of the emperor in Asia Minor and were strong in the face of the strong headwinds they faced. Jesus said, “even there where Satan’s throne is, you hold fast my name, you have not denied your faith in me.” When they were given the ultimatum to confess caesar or Christ, they confessed Christ. They held fast his name. Then Jesus mentions a name - Antipas, who was killed among them. We don’t know much about Antipas. We know a little, but not much. It has been suggested that he was an elder or bishop in Pergamum. He was killed for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A couple of sources I found say he was roasted to death in a brazen bowl because of his refusal to bow the knee at Satan’s throne and sacrifice to the emperor. The believers at Pergamum knew this happened, perhaps some were eyewitnesses, and yet they were strong and would not deny their faith in Christ. 

Notice what Jesus said about Antipas: “My faithful witness”. What a designation! Of all the names and titles you could carry: father, mother, husband, wife, friend, brother, sister, child of God, Christian, disciple”, how precious for the Lord Jesus Christ to call you “my faithful witness”. That’s what he called Antipas. Interestingly, just a chapter earlier, Jesus Himself is referred to as “the faithful witness”. The Greek word translated witness is “martys” (martoos), from which we get the word martyr. Regardless of what we don’t know. We know the best part of Antipas - he was Christ’s faithful martyr. 

It has often been in the face of the stiffest persecution that the church remains strong. No doubt the faithfulness and courage of Antipas emboldened the Christians in Pergamum to remain steadfast. And hot persecution has also often been used by God to grow his church. Not always, but often. The early church father Tertullian wrote the following, writing to persecutors: 

The more often we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.

Pergamum was strong in the face of persecution. And we should hear the words of Christ and his commendation and desire to be firm and steadfast if ever we face similar circumstances. 

Jesus Corrects

But that’s not all Jesus says. There is a serious defect in Pergamum which Jesus brings correction to. A deadly danger: compromise with the world. Verses 14-15:

14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Jesus addresses the entire church and says, “Some hold to the teachings of Balaam… and the Nicolaitains”. It starts with bad doctrine, which led to immorality and idolatry. Balaam was a pagan sorcerer who was hired by the King of Moab to who was fearful of the encroaching Israelites and so hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on them. Balaam tried three times, but couldn’t and in fact, ended up blessing Israel. But later Balaam convinced Balak the king of Moab to send some Moabite women to seduce Israelite men and pull them into sexual sin and idolatry, which they did. I think what Jesus is saying here is that some in the church, like Balaam are pulling others into immoral living and idolatrous practices. In other words, some in the church are getting pulled back into the very things the Lord Jesus had rescued them from. The word translated sexual immorality is the Greek work “proneuo” which is translated in some versions fornication. It can mean a range of sexually illicit activities. 

We don’t know much about the Nicolaitains. But the writings of some early church fathers suggest that they were a self indulgent group. Irenaeus wrote that the Nicolaitans “lived lives of unrestrained indulgence, abandoning themselves to pleasure like goats…” So bad doctrine led to idolatry - false worship, sexual immorality, and selfish-indulgence. This church was compromised.  

But notice it was some who had fallen into this error in doctrine which led to immorality and idolatry. Some. Not all, some. And the rest of the church tolerated it. A church that tolerates fornication, adultery, pornographic use, promiscuity, and the like is a compromised church. A message of cheap grace. You can be a Christian and practicing homosexual, an unrepentant fornicator. Grace is amazing! Don’t you see this as a rampant problem today? It is. Of course, grace is amazing… so amazing it actually transforms those who are saved by it. 

A church that tolerates the mixture of Christianity with other pagan practices is a compromised church. And this too is happening. The enneagram with its connection to the occult. There is a well known church who published a book on exploring new age practices to see if we can use them in Christian worship. This is compromise with the world. Even though it was only some… a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. 

Though the church at Pergamum did not succumb to Satan’s strategy of hot persecution to destroy them, they did fall prey to Satan’s more subtle strategy of worldly compromise. 

Jesus Commands

Well, Jesus had the ultimate ultimatum for Pergamum and he does for a church in need of the same correction today. Verse 16 says,

Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 

Repent or else. Repent. Turn away from the teaching, the immorality, the idolatry. Turn away from it all! Repent. That is always the call for the Christian when confronted with sin and compromise. What shall we do? It starts here - repent. And Jesus says if the call of repentance is refused, then he will turn his sword, the sharp two-edged sword coming out of his mouth, he will turn it against them. He will wage war against the church. This church was on the verge of serious, divine judgment. We often think of judgment as being Jesus will dole out on the world. And of course he will… he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). But we need to remember that judgment must begin in the household of God (1 Peter 4:17). Zeal for His house still consumes Jesus! 

Antipas, in faithfulness to Christ, experienced the sword of Rome. If they would not repent, the church at Pergamos would experience the sword of Christ making war against them. I can think of no more fearful and awful thing than this. What would repentance look like? We get a picture in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. The church at Corinth, like Pergamum, was tolerating immorality in the church and Paul said:

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Get rid of the compromise. Deal with it! Don’t tolerate it for another minute. This would apply to a church… like Pergamum or Real Life Church. And it certainly applies to you and me on an individual level. And so the call is to repent. Repent… turn from the wicked compromise with errant teaching, immoral living, and idolatrous worship. 

Jesus Promises (v. 17)

To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the one who overcomes, who conquers. Overcomes the persecution and the compromise. The one who repents of compromise. These are overcomers! Overcoming Christians are NOT those who never stumble. Overcomers are those who repent… who get up… who press on in Christ. Overcomers are those who have an overcoming faith (1 John 5:4-5) in the One who overcame the world (John 16:33). Jesus says to those who overcome, “I will give…” (twice). I will give. I will give. 

“I will give some of the hidden manna”. In other words, He will nourish. God gave manna to the Isrealites in the wilderness. But Jesus said in John 6, “I am the Bread of Life… I am the true bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”. What is this hidden manna? It is Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus says, “I will give you myself and richly nourish and satisfy you.” He will give himself to us… for his body is true meat and his blood is true drink. 

“I will give a white stone with a new name written on the stone”. It was an ancient custom that a man who stood on trial would receive a black stone if the verdict came down, “condemned” and a white stone if he was “not guilty”. Forgiven. Declared righteous. And so Jesus is saying, those who are faithful to Him may be blackballed in the world, but they are approved in his eyes. And a new name. In other words, a new identity. You are no longer just Jeff Leimer, Cindy Forsyth… You are born of God. You belong to Him. It is why we baptize in the triune name of God. It puts God’s name on us. It is why I love the benedictions in the scripture…because I want to put God’s name on you in these great blessings. To the one who overcomes, sins are forgiven, you are justified, and you have a new identity in Christ. 

Do you hear? 

I think it is fitting to end with this. Do you hear? Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”. This is what Jesus says to us today. Let us humble ourselves before the Lord this morning and say together, “no compromise”. Let’s hear the word of the Lord and like the puritans, let’s give ourselves to the great task of seeing the church - beginning with this one - purified in doctrine, worship, and life. 

Let’s pray.